Mountain of Memories
by LLDreamer445
Summary: God wants Joan to teach Adam how to snowboard on the school ski trip, but she can't help wonder why. Maybe God has something much greater in mind. Placed during the first season. COMPLETE! now with epilogue
1. And It Gets Weirder

**Chapter 1: And It Gets Wierder**

Joan entered the busy front office of Arcadia High. It was the usual Friday, one huge line for the desk.

"Mom!" Joan screamed through the sea of people. It was no use. She got down on her hands and knees and proceeded to crawl under peoples' legs. First she stuck her hand in a big wad of gum. From her surprise she bolted forward only to be hung by her scarf that was caught under someone's foot, and banged her head on the floor in front of her.

"Jane?" Adam's face appeared in front of Joan, a little blurry from her tearing eyes.

Joan put her hand to her head in pain, causing her to stick the wad of gum right in her hair. "Gosh, I am such a tube sock!" Joan screamed in frustration.

"What are you doing?" Adam gave her the usual 'you're insane' look.

She sighed. " I was trying to get a stupid form for the ski trip." Her head was throbbing now.

"You're going?" He gave her his oh so famous confused look now.

"As you would say 'Cha!' I love snowboarding." She took his hand and stood up, nearly being knocked back down by the sea of people.

"Can I go?"

"What do you mean, of course. Do you ski?"

"No." Yet again his expression changed. This time to his blank stare.

"Ok well, I can't even get a form from my own mother, so we will have to wait."

Joan and Adam headed for the door, but somehow she lost Adam in the sea and found Goth God.

"It's hot in here." He said with a smirk.

"Immagine what hell is like," she retorted.

"Been there, done that, Joan. Lets get to the point. I want you to teach Adam how to snowboard."

She didn't even ask why. "Yay, now I can help people get in shape!" Joan shot with a sarcastic tone.

God just walked away and gave her the wave. The special God wave. She knew it oh so well.


	2. Maybe I Don't Mind

**Chapter 2: **

At lunch the next day Joan presented Adam with a form for the ski trip.

"I asks if I'm skiing or snowboarding? What if I'm not doing either?"

"How are you going to hang out with me if you don't snowboard?" Joan manipulated him, of course the puppy dog face helped.

"Jane, I don't know how." He looked helpless, like her was letting her down.

"Oh, I know! I can teach you!" She was getting good at this mission thing.

"Ok, so snowboarding it is." He smiled and checked the little box on his form.

The bus ride was very, very long, not to mention extremely boring. Adam sketched Joan at least four different times in the exact same position. The best part of the ride was when Joan decided to steal his stocking cap, in the process, slamming his head against the window. After five long hours of cramped legs and butts molding to their seats, they finally arrived.

Joan stepped off the bus still wearing Adam's hat. Adam clenched his chin to his jacket when the wind blew, he realized his ears were unprotected without his hat.

Joan loved the snow. She gave Adam a huge bear hug in the excitement, but was reprimanded by a chaperone reminding her of the PDA rules. She rolled her eyes after turning around.

The students entered their cabin, slamming down their bags, and rushing for the already lit fire place. Joan pulled Adam by they hand and they got there first, right in front of the fire. Adam looked at the content expression on her face, he knew how she felt.

"Ready?" Joan looked up from strapping Adam's boots to his board. He looked scared, but nodded in reply.

The first time Adam actually stood up was a disaster. He had no idea how to do it, and ended up ramming Joan and himself into a fence. His second try was even worse. He went under the fence and through the woods. Attempting to get out of the woods, snowboard still attached, he face planted into the snow.

"This is not working," he said in frustration.

"I have told you like a thousand times, don't roll on your toes. It makes you go face first into the snow."

He got back up and, to Joan's surprise, made it all the way down the rest of the slope. Joan tried to jump up and down in pride, but only tripped herself with her snowboard. With a mouth full of snow she laughed at her stupidity and cheered for Adam at the same time.

Two hours and three cups of hot chocolate later, Joan and Adam sat in a ski lift.

"My mom used to take me out here every winter." Adam confessed. " She always used to tell me she would teach me how to snowboard when I was old enough. I regret never taking that chance."

"Adam, I'm sorry."

"Jane, It's not your fault. You know, I actually remember the last time she asked me. She wanted to take me out all the way to Colorado, so she asked me in October."

_The month before she died_ Joan thought.

Adam's eyes teared up. "When I'm out here I feel really close to her. Except it's you I'm out here with."

Joan stroked his face, wiping away the freezing tears.

"And maybe I don't mind." he gave her a quick kiss. Not too short, but pleasant. Joan knew he loved her.


	3. Edge

**Chapter 3**

Joan and Adam sat strapped to their boards waiting for these very slow kids to get out of their way. In all honesty, Joan's toes were cold and she was tired, but she couldn't give up on Adam.

"You know, Jane, I didn't even know you were into this."

"Heck yes," she got that sarcastic look in her eyes, "the purpose of my scarf collection."

Adam smiled. It wasn't a drop dead gorgeous smile, but it was just as good in all its quirkiness. She loved his smile.

"Ok, you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

They got up, surprisingly. Adam was going good. He stayed right with her. It was almost beautiful the way they rode side by side with the snow just barely at a flurry. Then it happened. She caught an edge, a bad one. She felt the impact, pain in her leg, but not long before she passed out.

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She woke up in the lodge next to a hot fire. She could feel the heat, not to mention her stiff leg. Her eyes still to tired to open she reached down to touch her leg. _Oh God, I have a cast_. _Not another leg injury…_ She knew this was worse than the washing machine, she could feel the exact spot where a bump was forming, swollen against the wall of her cast. She opened one eye. She look down slowly at the bright green hunk of plaster while opening the other eye. Her gaze was interrupted by Adam's head.

"Hey, you're awake." he said like she was an awakening baby. Soft and quiet.

She tried to nod but soon became aware of a throb in her head. Yet again she reached, feeling the band of gauze around her head.

"How long have I been out?"

"A few hours, you had a pretty nasty fall."

She smiled like that was a stupid thing to say, considering. Her brushed back her hair. She loved it when he did that.

"I made it all the way down the hill following the first aid people. You would have been proud."

She looked back down at her leg. She wished she could have seen him.

"Um, I had to pick a color for your cast. I hope its ok."

"At least you picked a good color. Thanks."

She fell back asleep a few minutes later. Adam stayed by her side and watched the fire. She woke back up to Adam grazing his hand over her cast.

"Can you do something for me?"

"Cha, anything, Jane."

She dug through her bag pulling out a Sharpie. "Will you decorate my cast. I want you to draw all over it, make it your masterpiece." She smiled a tired smile.

Adam took the pen unsure, and began his work while Joan slept again.

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After a couple of hours his work was finished. He didn't want to be there when she woke up. He didn't want her to read what he wrote on the bottom while he nervously watched her expression. He quietly got up to go to bed, but covering her with his jacket before he left.

Joan woke up during the wee hours of the morning, the fire almost dead. She looked down in the dim light she could see Adam had done what she asked. She was too tired to look at it now so she waited for the morning.

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Joan woke up late in the afternoon the next day. She started inspecting Adams work. It was detailed like nothing she had ever seen before. It was like the highest complexity of a doodle. There were pictures and words mixed together to make something of its own. One sketch in particular caught her eye. It was of her and Adam, sitting on a ski lift. She could see the word "love" hidden between their bodies. As Joan looked closer she began to see that the whole picture was formed with words. She read from the top of the ski lift to the bottom of their boards:

Joan,

I love you more than anything. I thought nothing could ever be as important to me as my mom. She was a beautiful person. She was just like you. She had a smile that told me the angels were above me and the sky was below me. I see that smile in your face every time I look at you. I can feel her embrace every time I hear your voice. A part of me came back when I meet you and that has made all the difference.

Joan picture that little boy in the yellow boat. It made her cry like it had before. Only this time it was Joan with the boy and the ripples were perfect. And there it was on her cast, a little boat with her and Adam, while the ripples spread to ever inch of that green cast. Joan finally looked up. God stood before her, little old lady God. She offered Joan a hot chocolate with out a word.

"This is what you wanted?"

"Adam is a very special person, Joan. I wanted you to know what it is like to pull someone up from the deepest place of existence. I wanted you to feel the love you get in return. Adam loves you, and that's exactly how I planned it. There is someone for everyone. Adam needs someone who understands what it's like to be imperfect. Adam has given you a very special place in his life, if not the most special."

Joan smiled. Across the room she could see Adam. He sat unaware of how much she loved him back. She looked back at God "Thanks." she whispered.


	4. Epilogue

Epilogue 

Author's note: I didn't plan on doing this, but I just got home from a snowboarding trip and I realized something. When your snowboarding you never really get used to it, it never stops being a challenge. I think that it's a lot like life. You definitely improve, but you are never perfect. So here is my epilogue:

Joan watched as the doctor cut of her cast, making sure he sawed it where she had directed. Joan looked up at God as he concentrated on her leg. She waited for him to say something.

"All done." He gently slid the cast of her leg, careful not to destroy Adam's artwork.

"I thought I was really good, you know."

"I did not design you to be perfect." He replied, never moving his concentration.

"Isn't there an easier way to make me learn my lesson."

"I wanted you to realize that no matter how good at something you become, you are never as good as me."

"That's reassuring." Joan was confused. "What about Adam, he's good at art?"

"But can he create a world, a human, a blade of grass? Art is and will always be a challenge for him. It's what makes it beautiful and unique. Not everyone can paint a masterpiece or create the world. Only I get to do that."

"You're perfect. Don't you get bored?"

"That's why I have you. You are my masterpieces. You are greater than he stars I made. Have you ever seen a nova, Joan? They burst with color. I made them for you. Scientists look through a pitiful little telescope that took them thousands of years to create, and see some thing bigger than life itself that took me one word to make."

"How can people see those things and not believe?"

"They aren't looking with their souls. If they were, they would look at the core of the whirlpool galaxy and see some thing more than the "X factor." They would see what I really put in it. Instead, they see with their eyes, and their minds tell them that it just happened. They teach children that the world just happened. Do you know what that does? The child feels unimportant, and grows up to be that scientist that sees with his eyes. He feels like there is more to life, but he cannot see it because his soul is blind."

"Why don't you just let everyone see you, like I do?"

"You are not an artist. You are special in that you see me. You do not create a masterpiece. Your work, your challenge in life, is to make people see me, even when their souls are blind."

"How do I do that?"

"That is the challenging part." With that he handed Joan her cast and motioned towards the door. Leaving her with a God wave and a better understanding of life.

Author's note: If you haven't seen the whirlpool galaxy or even a nova, it's something you need to see. Search for the Hubble Spacecraft website. I know they have a picture of the whirlpool galaxy and its core. I think the title of the core is "X factor in the core of the whirlpool." I personally did not see and X. Also look at some of the novas, they are amazing.


End file.
